1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to length and area measuring devices. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to measuring wheels and other distance measuring devices.
2. Related Art
Measuring wheel devices are well-known in the prior art. Measuring wheels are also known as surveyor's wheels, clickwheels, hodometers, trundle wheels, and perambulators. Generally, a measuring wheel device includes a handle, a wheel, and a ground traverse element. A user places the wheel against the ground and holds the handle. The user then walks between two points. The ground traverse element counts the number of rotations of the wheel (or any fraction thereof) as the wheel travels between the two points. Because the wheel is of a known radius, the ground traverse element can easily determine the distance between the two points.
Measuring wheels of the prior art present several drawbacks. First, these measuring wheels provide only a simple display of the measurements. They have no capacity for recordation or communication of the measurements. This requires the user to precisely record the measurements. It also often requires that the user wait to communicate the measurements to a back office or other third party. Second, the measuring wheels of the prior art are location agnostic. These measuring wheels are not aware of their location or the object they are measuring. This requires the user to precisely record the location and orientation of the measurements. Third, the measuring wheel cannot assist the user in secondary calculations based upon the measurements. For example, if the user is measuring an area on the ground, the user must measure all sides and then manually calculate the area. This can be a complex calculation for irregular shapes. Given all these limitations in the prior art, what is lacking is a smart measuring wheel and a computer program to actively assist the user in obtaining accurate and timely measurements that are immediately useful.